State v. Granberry

Criminal Procedure:
The State must initiate proceedings for a probation-violation before the probationary term has expired.

The State appealed the trial court judgment which dismissed Defendant's charge of unlawful possession of a controlled substance. The trial court reasoned that the charge must be dismissed because the State failed to initiate probation-violation proceedings before Defendant’s term of probation ended. Therefore, the trial court dismissed the charge pursuant to a conditional-discharge agreement under which Defendant had been put on probation. The State argued on appeal that the trial court may not dismiss the charge against Defendant until she demonstrates that she had fulfilled the terms of her probation, pursuant to ORS 475.245. The Court of Appeals held that the trial court correctly dismissed the charge because the State did not initiate probation-violation proceedings before the probationary term had expired. Upon the expiration of Defendant's conditional-discharge agreement, Defendant could no longer be charged with the crime that initiated her probation. Affirmed.